When Frank met Callie
by AnconiaStark
Summary: The title says it all folks. I've never been too fond of the Frank/Nancy relationship, and so I decided to write this little story. Hope you enjoy it ;)
1. Bayport High

Callie Shaw stood staring at the large hallway in front of her. Right now, it was jam-packed with students, shouting, yelling, laughing, and greeting each other after a long summer spent apart. She sighed and began to slowly make her way down the hall. Joining a new school was not going to be easy.

'Okay,' she thought to herself, 'Goals for today: find the principal's office, get schedule, go to class, make friends, don't be a loner at lunch. Not too hard. I can manage it.' She cautiously picked her way through the sea of teenagers, and then finally stood at the side of the chaotic hallway, realizing that she was never going to find the principal's office on time. For starters, she had no clue where it was, and secondly there was no way she was going to get through the huge wave of students. As she stood there, cursing her own luck and wondering in despair why ever her parents had to move from New York City to the unknown, infamous town of Bayport, she didn't notice a girl make her way up to her.

"Hi," said the girl with a bright smile.

"Hey," Callie replied.

"You look lost," said the girl. She had caramel colored skin, large laughing, and friendly grey eyes, and sleek jet-black hair, parted to the side.

"I am lost. Very lost. Can you tell me where the principal's office is? It's my first day ". She then added, holding out her hand, "I'm Callie, by the way."

"Esha," replied the girl, shaking Callie's hand. "So, Old Beady Eyes wants to do his inspection of the new meat, huh? Been there, done that. He'll drill you about yourself and how you would like to contribute to Bayport High like his life depends on it. I'll take you there. Where are you from?"

"I moved down from New York City," Callie replied. "My dad's a doctor and he wanted to work somewhere that's quieter, and calmer."

"The city that never sleeps. I love New York. My mom can't understand why though. She prefers areas like this on the outskirts of big cities, which is understandable because she did grow up in a small village on the outskirts of Paris, and then later lived in Switzerland. So country life is what reminds her best of home".

"So you're French?" Callie questioned.

"Half French," Esha replied. "My dad was Indian."

Callie took note of the "was" and was tempted to ask Esha about her dad, but then mentally scolded herself for having so little tact. She then questioned, "Were you born here?"

"No, I was born in Paris. I then spent 6 years of my life in Geneva, after which we moved here," she replied. Esha then took an abrupt turn, which lead them to face a door with the plaque "Arthur Crossfield- School Principal".

"Well, here we are. It was nice meeting you Callie. Good luck on your first day. "


	2. You need a girlfriend

Callie watched Esha walk away and then with a deep breath straightened her shoulders and knocked on the door.

"Come in," called a deep, gravelly voice.

Callie walked in and with a smile greeted the principal, noting that Esha had not been wrong by referring the school's principal as 'Old Beady Eyes'. Arthur Crossfield, Callie judged, was about sixty years old. He had grey hair that was quickly disappearing and a receding hairline. His expression at the moment Callie entered the office was a grumpy frown that made Callie's smile vanish as quickly as it came.

"Hello," she began uncertainly, "My name's Callie Shaw and I just moved down here from New York. I was told to see you and collect my schedule."

Crossfield remained silent for a while, sizing her up with his shrewd, beady black eyes. He finally spoke, "Take a seat. As you probably already know, I am the principal of the school. My job here is to ensure the healthy development of a student's mind, making the student capable enough to go out into the world and take care of him, or herself. I must let you know that I have a very low tolerance level for any kind of misbehavior. Will I be expecting anything of that sort from you?"

Callie quickly shook her head.

"Good," he said, standing up and going to his filing cabinet, picking out a file which he took with him when he reseated himself at his desk. He perused the file, and finally looked up at Callie. " Your grades are good. A straight-A student so far, your extra-curriculars seem to be in order, and you seem to have a special interest in journalism." He looked up at her with his eyebrows raised.

Callie then began to speak, " Yeah, I do. I intend on becoming a journalist myself when I finish my education. I heard the school has its own newspaper? I would be interested to join it."

"That's great. Here's your schedule. You may skip homeroom and head straight to your first class of the day: Gym. The gymnasium the large building outside. I trust you shall find your way there. It's not easy to miss the big grey block by the school's football field." He handed Callie her schedule and then added, "Have a good first day Miss Shaw, and welcome to Bayport High".

"Thank you," Callie replied and got up and left the principal's office. She looked down at her watch. It was 8:20, which gave her 15 minutes before gym began. She decided to take her time, by first going to her assigned locker on the second floor of the school building. Here she filled her bag with all the necessary books of the day.

"AP English, Chemistry, Calculus, Spanish, Biology, and Home Ec," Callie murmured to herself. "Not terrible". Once, she collected her things she once again glanced at her watch, 8:25. Bathroom, then, she decided. Once she was done in the bathroom, the school bell rang, and then she began to make her way to the gymnasium.

Frank Hardy made his way out of his homeroom class with his friends Philip 'Phil' Cohen and Anthony 'Tony' Prito by his side. Frank had an amused expression on his face, whereas Phil was laughing outright at what Tony was saying.

Sixteen year-old Tony Prito looked affronted by his friend's laughter. At 5ft 10, he was the shortest of the three. Being of Italian descent, he had a thick mop of curly black hair, olive skin, and black sparkling eyes. He had a mischievous smile, which he was currently flashing at Amy Wesley as she passed him. He was also an outrageous flirt.

"Stop laughing, Phil," Tony said somewhat angrily, " I see nothing funny about what I just mentioned to you! There is nothing even remotely amusing about it. Right, Frank?"

The corners of Frank's mouth twitched. He did his best to put on a straight face and then said, "Tony, trust me on this. You're not her type. You tried last year, and failed. You're going to fail again this year. Man, she's never going to go out with you. Get over it. Give it up."

Tony scowled, " You're just being cynical. She's just being a little resistant to the Prito charm." At this both Frank, and Phil laughed out loud.

"What's so funny?" questioned a voice from behind them.

"Frank turned around and smiled at his younger brother. "Tony is under the impression that Esha is going to go out with him."

Fifteen year-old, Joe Hardy, shook his head and chuckled. "Again?" he asked. He clapped Tony on the shoulder. "Dude, it's not going to happen." His cornflower blue eyes sparkled as he spoke. Unlike his elder brother, Joseph Hardy was more brawny, outgoing, and one fact that his brother never let him forget, an inch shorter. At exactly six feet tall, Joe matched the height of his best friend Biff Hooper. " Anyway, since we're on the topic, well roughly on the topic, Biff and I have decided, big brother, that you need a girlfriend"

Frank rolled his eyes at the suggestion and sighed. Frank, Phil and Tony were heading down to go for their gym class, where Biff, and Joe were heading towards the science labs. Around them, students were buzzing with stories of what their summer was like. He was about to inform Joe that when he thought he "needed" a girlfriend, he would be certain to get one, when Tony stopped in his tracks, and was staring with his mouth open at someone across them who was making her way down the hall. "Woah!"he said, "Who's that?"

Frank followed his gaze and saw who was capturing all of Tony's attention. She had curly blonde hair that could be described as golden, long legs and the most beautiful face he had ever seen. She quite literally took his breath away. He wondered who she was. She must definitely be new here. He was snapped out of his musings by Biff exclaiming, "She's hot!"

"Perfect ten," Joe said. "She's definitely new. I haven't seen her before."

"She looks smart. Do you think she's smart?" Phil asked, running a hand through his short brown hair.

"New, huh? She probably needs someone to help her get around the school," Tony said, still keeping his eyes fixed on her. The group of boys once again began to make their way down the hall.

"Forgot about Esha already?" Frank asked smiling mischievously at his friend.

"No, just keeping my options open, because, I quote, ' Man, she's never going to go out with you. Get over it. Give it up' ". They all laughed, and headed to their classes.

Frank stopped by the water fountain and looked through the crowd of students to see the girl again. He surprised himself by the sudden feeling of disappointment he felt when he couldn't find her. He then turned around and began to make his way to his first class, hoping he would run into her later on in the day.


	3. Who's Frank Hardy?

Callie walked into the gymnasium and joined the group of girls standing in a group at the right end of the sports hall. She looked around for Esha, being the only person she knew in the school, and soon spotted her standing with a blonde girl with glasses.

"Hey," Callie said upon reaching them.

Esha turned and smiled at her. "Hey! Cool, you're in our gym class." She then gestured to the blonde girl next to her. "This is Liz. Liz this is Callie. She's new around here. Just moved from New York."

"Well, obviously she's new. I haven't seen her, spoken to her, or interviewed her about anything yet. Hey," she added, smiling at Callie.

"Interviewed?" Callie asked, looking somewhat surprised.

"Yea, but I'm probably going to now. I've just decided to write an article for the Bayport Gazette on the new kids, and you are one of them..." Here Liz paused and began hunting her bag for a piece of paper and a pen.

"Liz, Coach Sheila is here. Interview later."

Liz closed her bag dejectedly, and then turned to the coach as she began to speak. Coach Sheila was incredibly tiny. Most of the girls towered over her. She loved her job, she loved fitness, and she especially adored exercising her love over her unfortunate gym students.

"Welcome back, girls. I hope you spent your summer well, and are ready to shape up! The first term of sports shall include track and field, and softball," Coach Sheila called out in a surprisingly booming loud voice for such a small person. " The second term, we'll be playing basketball, and volleyball. The third term, we'll do uni-hockey, and badminton. Now go get changed. I want you out on the field in five minutes."

"Great, her of all coaches," Liz grumbled, as the three girls made their way to the changing rooms.

"Oh, relax Liz. You like track and field," Esha said, in an exasperated tone.

"Yea, I do. Just not with her. Track and Field with her is like...is like...those all chocolate Oreos. When you look at it, it's just like, that's not an Oreo. It was an Oreo, now it's just a chocolate biscuit," Liz said.

Callie chimed in just as they found lockers to stash their bags, " It's just like M'n'Ms with peanuts."

"Totally," Esha agreed, as the girls began to change. " Oh, all that's wrong in the world. I'm beginning to lose faith in humanity."

"Hang in there," Callie replied with a smile.

Esha was about to reply to that when a loud burst of giggles cut her off. Three girls walked past them. Callie looked up as she was tying her shoes, and caught snippets of their conversation as they past.

"Oh my God, did you see Frank Hardy!"

"He got so tan over the summer. He still has that gorgeous smile."

"I know right. He's got muscular too. I'm pretty sure he's hiding a six-pack."

"Forget him, did you see his brother."

"Oh my God, yes! So hot now! Those biceps are to die for!"

"Okay, now you're just being weird. You don't die for biceps."

Here the conversation faded out, and Callie wondered who Frank Hardy could be. 'Probably a jock,' she thought. 'The type with a new girlfriend every month. The kind of guy who's good-looking and knows it." She wrinkled her nose in contempt. Why girls would fall for such a guy she could never figure out. However, Callie was curious by nature and couldn't just had to know who exactly he was.

"Who's Frank Hardy?" she asked.

"He's a friend of ours," Esha replied. " You'll meet the gang at lunch. We're generally very nice people. Just don't hate the Knicks and you'll be fine."

"The way you just put it, you're making us sound like a clique," Liz commented.

"No, I'm not," Esha shot back. "Why would you think that? You know how much I hate those things. So overrated."

Liz paid no attention to Esha, and instead questioned, "If we were a clique, what would be labeled as?"

Esha considered the question. "I don't know," she finally replied. "The normals, I guess?"

"I prefer the ones most likely to succeed," Liz said decisively.

"Uh-uh, highly unlikely since you're part of the clique," Esha teased playfully.

Liz's mouth dropped into an offended 'O', as she retorted, "Beeyotch!"

"Love you too, Liz," Esha said, laughing.


	4. Lunch

"It was awesome, man. Throwing yourself into complete oblivion just to be pulled back up and then throw yourself down again!"

Joe Hardy was relating his summer escapades to Biff. He looked up and waved to Tony and Esha, who then began making their way to him.

"I'm going to go get grape soda. Don't touch my fries," Biff said, as he got up and began to make his way to the vending machine at the other end of the cafeteria.

Joe watched Esha and Tony walk towards him, seemingly in deep conversation. As they neared, he managed to catch snippets of what they were saying.

"So you used to play tennis?" Tony asked Esha.

"Yes, but I don't anymore. It was fun while it lasted, and I'm still like the only person in this school who actually gets worked up about tennis matches, and not football matches," Esha replied.

"Weirdo," Tony teased, "Why'd you stop though? Worried you might hurt your pretty face?"

"Aww...you think I have a pretty face?" Esha asked laughingly.

"Yea, I do actually," Tony replied in all seriousness as they found a table. He looked up and saw Biff and Joe entering the cafeteria and waved to them.

"You outrageous flirt," Esha said shaking her head.

"I know, I know, it's not goin' anywhere, " Tony said as they found a table and sat down.

"Frank?" Esha asked.

"Yea, brutally honest actually," Tony replied.

"I'm sorry," Esha said, chewing her lip anxiously.

"What's she sorry about? Hey, neighbor," Joe Hardy said, looking straight at Esha. " Thanks for waiting for us before leaving for school."

Esha rolled her eyes. "I had to get here early. Swim team coach wanted to see me, and I couldn't be delayed because you couldn't find your shoe."

"Lost the sock this morning actually, and Mom wouldn't let me out with mismatched ones." Joe replied, after swallowing a bite of his turkey sandwich.

"And no grape soda anymore," Biff said sitting down next to Joe. "Where's everyone else?"

"Coming," Esha said, craning her neck to try and see if she could spot the rest of the "gang".

"Frank, Phil, and Chet are here," Biff observed.

"And there's Iola," Joe said.

Esha smiled mischievously at him, "Mmhmm."

"What?" Joe asked.

"Nothing," Esha replied still smiling. "So how was everyone's day?"

Her question was met with a cacophony of grunts from which she attempted to guess that their day had been tolerable.

They ate their lunch in silence waiting for the others.

Frank and Phil walked up to the table and sat beside Esha.

"Hey, Esha, please tell me you're in my Calculus class," Frank said as he sat down.

"I don't know. Who do you have?" Esha asked, rummaging through her bag for her schedule.

"Kramer," Frank replied.

Upon finding her schedule, she scanned it quickly, and then grinned, "Same. Now I don't have to sit next to Melinda."

Frank laughed. "Why do you get so annoyed with her? She's really nice."

"I'm sure she's a great person. But, just sometimes I feel like taking her head off."

"Oooh…violent," Frank replied. "Promise me you won't stab me with a pencil if I sit near you in Calculus?"

"Aww...Calculus buddies," Chet Morton said, as he sat down at the table next to Biff. Now, Chet Morton was not fat. Nobody called him fat. He was chubby. Not fat, but chubby: a fact he had made clear to everyone ever since Biff called him 'fat' in seventh grade. He also adamantly stated that he was in shape, since, "logically" (according to Chet) round is a shape.

"Hey, Chet. How was your summer?" Esha asked grinning. "Good food?"

"The best," Chet replied, digging into his meal.

"Calculus buddies," Frank mouthed slowly. "Who says that anymore?"

"I do big feller," Chet replied, not looking up from his plate.

"And there's the other thing you should stop saying, bro," Iola Morton, said as she sat down beside Chet. She grinned around the table, showing off her pearly wides, her wide doe eyes shining with amusement. "Well, it's good to be back."

"Oh, there's Liz and the new girl, Callie. Be nice everyone," Esha said as she spotted Liz and Callie coming towards them.

"Woah, wait you know her?" Joe asked, once he'd got a glimpse of the new girl, and realized it was the same one he'd scored as a perfect ten.

"Who? Liz? Yea, you know I talk to her all the time, and we hang out so it would make sense for me to _**know**_her," Esha said, opening her bottler of water.

"I see your sense of humor's still lame," Joe said. "You know who I'm talking about."

"Yea, met her this morning. Helped her out by showing her the way to the principal's office. My random act of kindness for the day. Oh, and by the way, too old for you Hardy," Esha replied, smiling at Liz and Callie as they reached the table. She spoke quickly, cutting off Joe's reply " Okay everyone, this is Callie. Callie this is everyone."

"Hey," Callie said, smiling a little shyly at everyone.

Esha then began to reel off the names of the people at the table starting from, Joe, and ending with Frank. Frank for his part, was staring transfixed at Callie. He realized that he had misjudged her when he first saw her. She was even more beautiful then he had first realized. As Esha said his name, he looked up at Callie and smiled softly.

"Hey," he said.

Callie felt her cheeks flush when Frank smiled at her. 'Woah,' she thought. ' Wow, just wow. He's gorgeous.' At the back of her mind, she heard Esha mention that Frank and Joe _Hardy _were brothers, and that Iola was Chet's sister.

'So that's the Frank Hardy,' she thought.

She sat down near him and surveyed the table, trying not to stare at Frank. They all seemed like really nice people to her, and she was glad that she had found friends with this group. They seemed normal.

"So, Callie, where'd you move from?" Biff asked.

"New York," Callie replied.

"Oh, I've an uncle who lives there. He's the head of our family's pizza branch in New York: Prito's Pizza?"

"Oh, I know that place. It's so good. We order from there every time," Callie replied. She cast a surreptitious glance at Frank. 'He is really cute,' she thought, allowing her eyes to rake over his dark brown hair, and the messy bangs that covered his forehead, and fell just millimeters away from his warm, chocolate brown eyes. He was currently laughing at a story Joe was saying with most exuberantly, and Callie couldn't help hoping that he had a great personality to match his looks.


	5. You most certainly do

The first few weeks of school passed by very quickly for everyone. For Frank, it was all a blur between homework, friends, family, and Callie. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He wasn't sure how he felt about her, and decided to talk to someone about it. Soon. He turned up the collar of his jacket as he briskly walked down the street towards the library. He had to write a book report on '_The Great Gatsby_' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which was due the next day, and it had completely slipped his mind. It did not help that he had left his copy of the book in his locker at school. He frowned, as he hurried up the library steps and pushed open the doors of the library.

"You're losing focus, Frank," he murmured to himself. He rubbed his hands together to get them warm. He went up to one of the computers by the librarian's desk, and typed in the name of the book. Locating the aisle and section of the library he would find the book, Frank set off for it quickly, not wanting to waste another minute. His long legs enabled him to quickly move and find the aisle he was looking for. After about five minutes of looking for the book, he finally found it, and was about to leave when he heard a soft sound of frustration, as well as some cutting remarks about what the speaker thought Scarlett o'Hara should do about her current predicament, coming from the other side of the large bookcase he was standing in front of. The voice sounded familiar to him, and curious, he decided to see who it was, and he found Callie, scowling in frustration at a copy of '_Gone with the Wind_'.

He quickly ducked behind the bookcase again, and then shook his head at his own silly reaction. He stepped out from the behind the bookcase, and walked towards Callie. She hadn't noticed him coming yet, as she was so immersed in her book. Frank stared at her for a minute, feeling extremely creeped out by himself- but he couldn't help it.. Her rosebud mouth was turned down in a frown, her eyebrows were drown together, and her hair was incredibly messy, and she still managed to look as lovely as ever.

"Was Scarlett O'Hara a feminist? Is it even possible for a woman of her time to be a feminist?," Callie grumbled. "Yes, she was, and no it isn't. I know that. I know what to write, and I can't write it!"

Frank smiled, "Having a little trouble there?"

She looked up at him quickly, and hurriedly began straightening out her hair. She smiled sheepishly, blushing a little.

"Writer's block," she said. "The Great Gatsby?"

Frank looked down at his book. " Yea, I have to write a book report on it. It's due tomorrow, and I'm not even half-way through reading it."

"Well, having writer's block is going to be much good for you now."

He laughed, sitting down on the chair opposite her. "No, I guess not. How do you like it here?"

"It's very different from the city. So small. I feel like I now everyone already."

"Try living here forever. Seeing the same people again and again. I'm lucky to have known reasonable people."

"And do I fall into the reasonable people category?"

"Oh, you most certainly do," he replied softly, with a warm smile.

He saw her expression change, and she looked at him with her large honey-brown eyes. She was so exquisitely beautiful. He'd innocently drawn out all that he already knew about her from Esha. Although, he suspected that Esha had guessed that he was interested in Callie, and may have even drawn the conclusion that he liked Callie- not much slipped past Esha. He knew that she was smart, ambitious, and liked adventure, recklessly so. She thought and did, not thinking much about the , he deduced from childhood stories that Callie told Esha, and Esha told him. Now he was certain that Esha was completely sure that he like Callie. He broke out of his reverie, tearing his eyes from hers. He cleared his throat and said, "I have to go and start on this book report...I'll, uh, I'll see you later." He smiled at her again, and walked out with one thing in his mind that he was certain about. He definitely liked Callie.

* * *

Callie watched him walk away. She was definitely interested in him, and now she began to wonder if, just maybe if he was interested too. She hoped so. She knew that guys like him were hard to find, but she was worried that he and Esha may have some history. Esha was her best friend here, and she didn't want to ruin their friendship over a guy. Even if that guy was Frank Hardy. Even if he was every bit as perfect as him, and every bit as dense. Callie frowned. He seemed interested. It had been three months since they first met. Why didn't he just ask her out already?

'Patience is virtue, besides I'm not even sure if he does like me, and he might have had a thing with my best friend," she thought to herself.

'I have to talk to Esha about this,' Callie finally decided. 'Just sort things out, and see if I have a chance with Frank.'

She looked down and noticed '_Gone with the_ _Wind_' again. She had an essay to write, and daydreaming about Frank Hardy was not getting her far. But it was certainly far more interesting. She then lost herself in a daydream. Again.


	6. And so it progresses

Joe dodged around Frank, and then finally jumped up to take his shot.

"He shoots, and he scores," Joe shouted as he landed back on his feet. He laughed, and clapped Frank on the back. "Getting old, big brother? Feeling the rheum-something already?"

Frank stood up straight, taking the ball from Joe's hands.

"Nope!" he said, aiming for the hoop and then getting the ball in. "I just like giving my baby brother a chance."

"I thought we agreed to never call me that again," Joe growled, trying to get the ball from Frank.

"We sure did, baby brother," Frank replied, skirting around Joe to take a shot at the hoop.

"And he misses..misses..No, don't go in. Fall out! Out!OUT!" Joe scowled in frustration as Frank took hold of the ball again.

Frank laughed, and dribbled the ball all the way to the other side of the court with Joe following him closely.

"So, uh, Joe what do you think of Callie?"

"Oh, she's okay I guess. Hot. Don't talk to her much. Why?" Joe said as he regained the possession of the basketball.

"No reason," Frank said, trying to get the ball back. "Just curious."

"What do you think of her?" Joe asked, aiming the ball at the hoop.

"She's nice, I guess. Pretty too," Frank replied trying to block the ball.

Joe suddenly paused allowing Frank to get the ball and shoot. A slow grin spread across his face.

"You like her," he said, pointing accusingly at Frank.

"What?" Frank said picking up the ball, and standing in front of Joe.

"Frank has a crush, Frank has a cruuuuuush," Joe sang out gleefully taking the ball from Frank.

"Yes, I like her. Well done, Sherlock," Frank said resignedly. "I was going to ask you if I should something about it."

"Ask her out," Joe said carelessly, tossing the ball into the hoop.

Frank caught the ball and held it away from Joe. " And if she says no?"

"She'll say yes," Joe said, tripping over Frank's foot, and losing the ball.

"And how're you so sure?" Frank asked, taking a shot at the hoop.

"Oh, I have my sources big brother," Joe replied.

"I still can't believe she joined cheerleading. She could be spending time with us now. Who would pass on an opportunity like this? We're awesome."

Callie smiled at Esha's rant. "Cheerleading can be fun."

"Sure, if you like waving around pom-poms and acting like a ditzy fool all day everyday. Maybe Iola could revolutionize cheerleaders. She could be the first cheerleader with brains. I'm so glad she joined cheerleading." Esha replied.

"Are you sure you're not bipolar?" Callie asked, laughing.

Callie and Esha were spending their Saturday at the Bayport Mall. Callie was still having trouble getting used to the small city. Apparently in Bayport, you couldn't order Chinese food at two in the morning. 'God Bless New York,' she thought."

"Oooh…lets go into this store. I love the song they're playing," Esha said.

"Me too, and that's such a cute sweater," Callie said as she followed Esha in.

Callie made her way to the sweater and picked it up, checking the price tag, when she realized that she had something very important to ask Esha today. It was now or never. It was her one and only chance. Okay, maybe not the one and only.

"Esha," she began.

"Yea," Esha replied. Her attention was directed towards a blue mini-skirt, which she was currently holding up against her legs.

"Have you and Frank ever gone out?"

"No…why?"

"Well, you seem so close…," Callie replied nonchalantly as possible. She found it a little difficult to stop sounding too happy.

"He's never had a girlfriend," Esha said, looking at Callie with an amused smile on her face.

"No?" Callie asked a little too casually.

"He does seem interested in you. I think he likes you just as much as you like him."

Callie put the sweater down and turned to Esha with an incredulous look on her face.

"Have we talked about this?"

"No. I knew it," Esha replied gleefully.

"How? Do you read minds?"

"I wish, but no. My mom's a psychologist."

"Amazing how you turned out this way," Callie said smiling.

"Hey!" Esha replied.


	7. He did it

"Come on, just go up to her, and ask her!" Joe exclaimed to his older brother, who looked extremely apprehensive at the prospect. Frank, Joe and their friends were at the Morton's place just relaxing since their holidays were just beginning. It had snowed quite early this year, and the whole of Bayport was covered in a thick layer of snow. Frank adjusted the sleeves of his jacket, and cleared his throat.

"Joe," he began.

"Frank, just go and ask her out," Esha said, coming up from behind them.

"It's isn't so easy, and I don't remember ever discussing this with you. Do you even know who we're talking about?" Frank replied.

"Sure. It's Callie," Esha said.

Esha turned to go away, when suddenly she turned back and said, " Just to boost your present non-existent confidence, she'll say yes."

"You're always so sweet to me, Esha," Frank replied smiling at his best friend.

"I always have your best interest at heart," she called out, not bothering to look back. She was making her way down to the lake, when she got tackled by Biff, into the huge pile of snow at the side of the road. Frank and Joe laughed as they heard her shrieks mingled Biff's laughter.

Joe then turned to his brother, still chuckling, and then he stopped abruptly, and pushed his brother to where Callie was sitting on the porch of the Morton's house.

"Go get her, bro."

Frank swallowed nervously, but this time began to make his way to Callie. What Esha had said to him had, as she had intended it too, boosted his confidence a little bit. Esha was generally right for 99% of the time. Frank crossed his fingers hoping that this time wouldn't be part of the 1% where Esha was wrong. He quickly ran his hand through his hair, and approached Callie, sitting down beside her on the porch steps.

"Hi," he said, smiling at her.

"Hey," she replied. "How are you?"

"All right," he said, sounding a little out of breath to himself. He turned to look at her, and saw her leaning against the wooden post that made up part of the framework of the porch, smiling at him. Her curly blonde hair was left loose, and her eyes seemed to be more of a golden than brown color today.

'Why is she this beautiful?' Frank thought to himself.

"How'd your book report go?" Callie asked him.

"Fine, not my best but 'Sparknotes' did help,"

"Oh, I love that site. Helped me with my essay. Why aren't you with the others, trying to give Esha pneumonia by repeatedly dumping her in the snow like the others?" Callie asked, laughing as she saw Tony Esha up and dump her again into a snowdrift.

"Because the last time I did that, I lived to regret it," Frank replied.

Callie laughed. "What did she do?"

Frank shook his head laughing. " Worst day of my life. I decided to never ever ever again do that to her. Ever."

"But what did she do?"

"She piled up about four to five feet of snow in front of my doorstep, and then rigged a tripwire at the front of the door, and send me flying face first into the snow drift. But it didn't stop at that. She then proceeded to stuff ice cubes down my shirt, and steal my shoes."

Callie was laughing uncontrollably then.

Frank looked at her, unable to keep a smile off his face. "No, no. Don't laugh. You wouldn't be laughing if that happened to you."

Callie stopped laughing abruptly. "No, it won't happen to me." She allowed a mischievous smile to spread across her face.

"And why not?"

"Because I wouldn't be stupid enough to do that to someone as vengeful as Esha," Callie replied.

"Oh," Frank said standing up, looking down at her. " You're going to pay for that."

"No, Frank. Don't. I'm sorry," Callie said shrinking back towards the post. Frank didn't listen to her, but instead lifted her up.

Callie shrieked with laughter.

"You know, Callie. You don't seem to be participating that much with the extremely amusing activities going on here," Frank said, grinning down at Callie.

Callie wrapped her arms around his neck a little more tightly, as she noticed them nearing a snowdrift. "Frank, no. Don't. Don't you dare," She squealed with laughter as he threw her into the snow. She looked up to see him laughing at her.

"Can you help me up?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied still laughing. He stretched out his hand to her. She took hold of his hand and then gave it a sharp tug, pulling him down into the snow beside her.

"Now we're even," she said laughing as she stood up. He stood up with her, smiling at her.

Callie pulled her sleeves over her palms, and looked down by the lake in time to see Esha sneak up behind Biff and stuff snow down the back of his shirt. "Esha must be freezing!"

"Yea," Frank replied. "She probably is. But she's like a polar bear. She has an extremely high tolerance for being cold." He looked at Callie standing in front of him, shivering slightly, but with a huge smile on her face. He suddenly felt all warm inside, and then blurted out,

"Calliewillyougooutwithme?"

"Sorry?" Callie siad, "I didn't catch that."

Frank took a deep breath. "I...I was wondering if...well, if...you would...er...if you would like to go out with me?"

Callie bit her lip, and then smiled at him. "Yes, I'd like that. I'd like that very much."

Frank smiled back at her. His heart was still beating very fast. He couldn't believe she'd said yes. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yea,"

"Well, would you like to go for a movie with me? You can pick."

"Sure, I'd love that."

Joe and Chet were watching them quite discreetly from behind a tree.

"They're smiling in that way, So she said yes?" Chet asked Joe.

Joe smiled affectionately at his brother. "Yea, yea. She did. He did it!"


	8. Eight Years Later

Callie and Frank were sitting next to each other, at the foot of an old oak tree on the top of a hill that gave them a view of nearly all of Bayport. Frank had his arms wrapped tightly around Callie. A cool spring breeze ruffled his hair as it passed them. Callie smiled up at him, straightening his hair out for him. He then leant down to kiss her. They had now been a couple for eight years. They had been through a lot during these eight years, and when times were hard, they were each other's strengths throughout it all. She loved him so much. She had no words for it.

"What are you thinking about, sweetheart?" he asked, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Do you remember our first date Frank?" Callie asked.

"Mmhmm. It went better than I thought it would. I was so nervous," Frank replied. "I brought you here in the end. We had our first kiss here."

"I love this place," Callie sighed looking around her. "I'm glad that you're free right now. You've been so busy for the past few weeks."

"I know. I'm sorry, I should have made more time for you."

"Well, you weren't the only one who was busy sweetheart," Callie said smiling teasingly.

Frank laughed.

"I'd say. You practically kicked me out of your apartment last week because you had an article to finish and I was a distraction."

Callie laughed sheepishly. "I'm sorry. But hey, my article made the front page."

"Just like I knew it would," he said.

"Vanessa and Joe are going out tonight."

"Oh," Frank replied looking extremely surprised. "I didn't know they patched things up."

"And…Esha has a date tonight too," Callie smiled.

"Why do I not know anything? Do you know with whom?"

"Yea, this German steel magnate. She met him on her last trip to Germany," Callie replied.

"Is he nice?"

"Yes, he's very sweet. He seems to like her a lot."

"Hope it doesn't turn out like her last relationship."

"I'm sorry Esha and Tony didn't last. They were a good couple."

"They didn't want the same things," Frank said, getting a distant look in his eyes as he turned his eyes to look at an eagle that was soaring in the sky.

"Well, I'm glad we want the same things," Callie said, snuggling further into Frank's chest.

"I hope so," he said.

Callie looked up at him in surprise. He then let go of her gently and stood up. Callie stood up with him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she said folding her arms, getting a little irritated.

Frank turned away from her, sliding his hands in his pockets and began fidgeting with the contents of his left pocket with his hand. Then he began speaking,

"Callie, I know I'm not the most openly emotional person, but I want you to know that I really really love you. " He turned back to her. "I don't know when i realized that I was in love with you. It could have been the first time I saw you. You were wearing a pair of three-quarters and a loose grey sleeveless top. I had never seen anything so beautiful. It could have also been the first time we talked and got to know each other. It could have been the first time we kissed. It could have been after our first fight when you threatened to break up with me and suddenly it was like I couldn't breath. It was like I was slowly and painfully dying because my oxygen supply was cut off. I can't live without you. Not being able to breath is less painful that not being with you."

He then got down on one knee, while simultaneously opening a small box that contained a simple ring with a large diamond on it.

Callie's hands flew to her mouth in shock.

"Callie. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Being without you is not only unbearable but it's unimaginable. So Cal, will you marry me?"

Tears sprang to Callie's eyes. "Yes," she whispered, and then said it again, but louder. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes , yes!"

Frank smiled. He got up and gathered her in his arms, and kissed her lovingly, passionately, and deeply. He broke the kiss to stare into her eyes. He then slid the ring onto her finger and kissed each of her fingertips before kissing her on the lips again.

She smiled up at him. Eight years, and now quite literally an eternity together. She couldn't imagine her life without him. She couldn't imagine her life with anyone else. Her past, present, and future were always Frank, and would always be Frank.

"So," Callie asked smiling up at him. "When do you want to get married?"

Frank wrapped an arm around his fiancée's waist, and they began to make their way down the hill.

"Well, we can have a summer wedding."

"Oh, sure. In August?" Callie asked.

"Sure."

"What do you think our napkins should be like? Should they have our names on it? Or is that too tacky?"

"Callie, we have 5 months till the wedding, and we haven't even picked a date yet." Frank said in exasperation.

"August 17th," Callie promptly replied.

Frank looked down at her, "How long have you been planning this?"

"Oh, only about six or seven years now. You didn't answer my question."

Frank smiled, and kissed Callie on the top of the head. She was the best thing that had ever been his.


End file.
